This conversation with Yaniya Lee and Curtis Talwst Santiago opens up the processes and practice behind Santiago’s contributions to the Toronto Biennial of Art. Spanning from the ongoing Infinity Series–which inspired a host of responses from school students participating in facilitated workshops in the Biennial’s Programs–to J’ouvert Temple (2019)–an architectural fantasy or “capriccio” installed at 55 Unwin–Santiago reflects on the role of residual histories in the present and the possibilities of shifting scales of intimacy.
Event Note: This conversation takes place within the Programs Hub at the rear of 259 Lake Shore Blvd E.
Image Credit: In Conversation with Curtis Talwst Santiago, 2019. Photo: Sue Holland.
Bios
Curtis Talwst Santiago (born in Edmonton, Canada) is an artist with a decentralized practice. Curtis studied as an apprentice to Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun and has exhibited internationally at venues such as the New Museum, New York; the Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto; the Pérez Art Museum Miami; and SCAD Museum of Art, Savannah. The artist’s work was also featured in the Biennale de Dakar and SITE Santa Fe, both 2018, and is in the permanent collection of the Studio Museum in Harlem.
Yaniya Lee‘s (born in Montreal) writing, research and collaboration focus on the ethics of aesthetics. In the fall of 2020, Lee and curator Denise Ryner guest-edited Chroma, a special issue of Canadian Art magazine dedicated to black artists and black art histories. Lee has participated in residencies at Banff (2017), the Blackwood Gallery (2018), Gallery 44 (2018), Vtape (2019-2020) and she is currently a research fellow at Artexte. Lee was a member of the editorial team at Canadian Art magazine from 2017-2021, and she joined Archive Books’ editorial team this past spring.